Shoulders

Naomi Shihab Nye offers readers an alternative to the cruel ways of the world in her poem “Shoulders,” using the ordinary image of a father carrying his sleeping son across a busy street to underscore the importance of kindness in everyday society. The speaker of the poem observes “a man cross[ing] the street in rain” (Line 1), describing his movements as cautious and precise. The man steps “gently, looking two times north and south” (Line 2) before walking into the road “because his son is asleep on his shoulder” (Line 3). The man makes sure that “no car [splashes] him” (Line 4), or “drive[s] too near” (Line 5) to the child, protecting his son from the outside forces that do not have his well-being in mind. The speaker is startled by this small act of care and generosity, describing an otherwise mundane action in great detail, and therefore exposing the lack of altruism present in everyday, human interactions (see: Themes).

The speaker describes the sleeping child as “the world’s most sensitive cargo” (Line 6), exaggerating this notion by noting that he is “not marked / Nowhere does his jacket say FRAGILE, / HANDLE WITH CARE” (Lines 7-9). The boy symbolizes innocence (see: Symbols & Motifs), unaware of the inherent dangers that surround him in the wider world. Nye’s capitalization of “FRAGILE, / HANDLE WITH CARE” (Lines 8-9) reinforces this notion (see: Literary Devices), asserting that the innocent must be protected at all costs.

Nye uses literary consonance, or the repetition of a consonant sound within a sequence of words, to create the rainy atmosphere of the poem. The consonant “s” is heard a total of 28 times throughout the first four stanzas of the poem, mimicking the sound of rain falling and the rush of cars driving across wet pavement (see: Literary Devices). Nye’s use of this sonic device makes readers aware of the fact that, in order to protect his son, the father is willingly being pelted by the rain, taking on repeated hardship to spare his child. The gentle nature of the “s” sound highlights the thematic concerns of love and empathy, revealing that because the father protects his son, the child is safe to “dream” (Line 11).

“Shoulders” begins in the third-person point of view; however, in the final stanzas of the poem (Stanzas 5 and 6), the perspective shifts to the first-person plural. The speaker involves themselves and the reader in Stanza 5, stating that:

We’re not going to be able

to live in this world

if we’re not willing to do what he’s doing

with one another (Lines 13-16).

The narrative quality of the first four stanzas is replaced by an overt appeal to the audience, asking readers to use this portrait of father and son as an example of radical empathy. Readers are no longer watching the scene unfold but are now active participants in the world of the poem. Nye ends “Shoulders” with the simple acknowledgement that, without conscious love and care for those around us, “The road will only be wide. / The rain will never stop falling” (Lines 17-18). The road is symbolic of life’s journey. The rain, the hardships faced along the way. Nye admits that the journey through life is never easy, but she is hopeful that human kindness is the tool that will make the journey easier.